Hilfiger Denim Re-brands as Tommy Jeans

The company expects Tommy Jeans to grow until 2020 in the high-double digits.

Capitalizing on growing demand from a younger demographic, Tommy Hilfiger, which is owned by PVH Corp., is re-branding its Hilfiger Denim label as Tommy Jeans.The move is effective with women's and men's pre-spring 2018 collections, being introduced in November.The decision was made to build on the strong momentum that Hilfiger, which generates $6.6 billion in retail sales, is experiencing and its globally established denim business.Avery Baker, chief brand officer of Hilfiger, explained that the company introduced Tommy Jeans capsules that have attracted a much younger demographic to the brand. In spring 2016, the company launched Tommy Jeans heritage capsules and they've continued to experience "absolutely incredible sell-through performance and demand for those collections on a global basis.” They were initially delivered to stores in April 2016.“What it’s really shown us is there is an amazing demand and interest coming from a brand new audience of young consumers for the brand. They are loving not just the literal heritage pieces of Tommy Jeans, but the heritage aspect of the brand. Because we’re seeing such an appetite from that younger customer, we’re targeting that Millennial and even Gen Z even more than we did in the past,” she said.In fact, a recent study found in the last year that 20 percent of new purchases of Tommy Hilfiger were by customers under the age of 25, Baker said. In addition, Piper Jaffray’s 34th annual “Taking Stock With Teens,” study showed Hilfiger was among the top 20 brands among teens in America.A lot of the enthusiasm for Hilfiger's labels is coming from its highly successful Tommy x Gigi collaboration, which is more expensive than Tommy Jeans and has a lot of different fashion influences than just denim. The Tommy Jeans capsules have been more about heritage and are denim-oriented.In recent years Tommy Jeans had not been available in the North American market until these heritage capsules were introduced, many featuring Nineties throwback styles. These capsules were distributed in Urban Outfitters, Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom, and globally in such stores as Selfridges and Harrods. The company found that consumers were asking for more product under the Tommy Jeans label.Tommy Jeans hasn’t been sold at Macy’s, which has an exclusive arrangement for Tommy Hilfiger sportswear. Both sportswear and denim are sold there under the Tommy Hilfiger label. There are no plans to sell Tommy Jeans at Macy's.Hilfiger Denim, which primarily did business in Europe, Asia and Latin America, has only been available in North America at Hilfiger’s freestanding specialty stores and online.Hilfiger Denim, which will now be known as Tommy Jeans, will continue to be designed in Amsterdam by the same team with the same aesthetic. Hilfiger Denim, which was very successful in Europe, had the distinction of rejuvenating Hilfiger’s brand when it had floundered in the U.S. in the late Nineties and early Aughts. Hilfiger Denim stayed focused on the company’s core DNA and classic, premium products, while in the U.S. the company veered off-track into baggy jeans and clothing with large logos and became over distributed. Baker said Hilfiger Denim as always been “an edgier, slightly more rebellious side of the brand and that won’t change.”There are 31 freestanding Hilfiger Denim stores in Belgium, Denmark, German, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland, which will now convert to Tommy Jeans stores. Those will phase in over the next few months. There are also Hilfiger Denim shops-in-shop globally that will be renamed Tommy Jeans.Hilfiger Denim has been a successful part of the business worldwide. “It has grown tremendously and we expect it [Tommy Jeans] to grow until 2020 in the high-double digits,” Baker said.Tommy Jeans will include denim jeans, jackets, hats and sweaters. It is expected to compete with other denim brands and street brands.Most recently, the Tommy Jeans label has been used in the heritage flag logo-inspired capsule collections within Hilfiger Denim. Going forward, it will be used across the entire denim business. The new Tommy Jeans logo will continue to feature the iconic “stretch flag.” Special-edition Tommy Jeans heritage capsules will continue to be a part of the larger Tommy Jeans label. The pre-spring Tommy Jeans collection is based on Hilfiger's archives. The collection seeks to reinvent key Tommy Jeans pieces with a more modern and youthful vibe, merging sport, preppy and street influences.[caption id="attachment_11039812" align="aligncenter" width="400"] A pre-spring 2018 look from Tommy Jeans.[/caption]

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